Fingal Bay has Neptune as his Cheltenham target

THE exciting Fingal Bay looks set to stay at 2m5f for a tilt at theNeptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, trainer Philip Hobbs has said.

The unbeaten six-year-old figures at the head of the market for that race and the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle over 3m but Hobbs is keen to stay over the shorter trip.

"It has to be the Neptune Novices' Hurdle," the trainer said. "I am sure he will go three [miles] but we don't know that for certain. As far as the ground is concerned anything on the softer side of good will be fine. I feel that softer ground plays to his strength more but I don't think it matters.

"There was not really a race after the Challow but we did not really want to run him again. He has had a short break and he will go straight to Cheltenham."

Colour Squadron, a 14-1 chance for the William Hill Supreme Novices' Hurdle, will head to Newbury on Friday in an attempt to get back to winning ways having gone down by a short head in the Tolworth Hurdle last time.

Hobbs told At The Races: "The plan is to run at Newbury on Friday as a little more experiencewould not do him any harm. He is not a great big strong horse but he is a horse with plenty of ability."

Sadler's Risk leapt to the head of the bettingfor the JCB Triumph Hurdle with a win at Kempton last month and Hobbs is looking at a return to that track for his next outing.

"We are aiming to run him back at Kempton again on Saturday week in the Adonis and then Cheltenham after that," Hobbs added.